Incense and Peppermints
by Betty Lovegood
Summary: Edward has a new job in New York. He finds his coworker very attractive, so his teasing is relentless. Is the feeling mutual? He thinks so. Rated M.


**Disclaimer:** In case you didn't know, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and these characters.

* * *

**INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS. **

"_Incense and peppermints, the__ color__ of thyme. / __**Who cares what games we choose?**__ / __**Little to win, but nothing to lose.**__ / Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns."_

· - ·

Freshly dressed, I put on my white dress shirt, new black suit, black tie, socks, elegant shoes and some perfume. When I was finished, I stepped into the bedroom and knelt on the right side of the bed, touching her bare arm.

"Victoria? I'm going to work." I looked at her, unsure if she had heard me. She looked beautifully peaceful in the dim light of the sun, which was slipping through the blinds, and I recalled how fierce she had been in bed last night. "I'm setting the alarm clock, okay? You have a couple more hours to sleep if you want." Victoria opened her eyes slowly and looked at me. "Flor will be here to clean the flat at ten… make sure you close the door properly when you leave."

"Will you call me again?" she asked.

"I don't know," I responded. I didn't want to give her false hopes. "I don't want to be late. Goodbye."

I grabbed the car keys and my briefcase from the dining table as I passed by it and left the apartment. I caught the elevator to the garage floor. I stepped inside my silver Volvo, put on my sunglasses and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. I turned it again and again and again.

"_Fuck!_" I yelled, accidentally hitting my head on the wheel.

First day of work at a new place and I was going to be late. _Fucking joke car_. I would have to take the subway to 7th Avenue and walk to the building. I didn't like the subway, but I hated buses. So I'd take the less of two fucking disgusting things.

I had taken the subway twice since I came to New York. The first day I had arrived at the city I was eager to get to at my new flat and the streets were so full of traffic it was insane. I got out of the cab and, since I hadn't brought much luggage, I decided I would try for the subway. Not only did I get lost twice, but I nearly got arrested for having an argument with a random man. The second time I took the subway was that one day that I got drunk, and I managed to arrive home safely. I don't remember how many times I got lost that time.

_First fucking day at work and I'm going to get fired_, I thought as I stepped in the crowded train and looked at my watch.

New York was crowded anywhere. You can see a lot of different people wherever you go, speaking any language you can imagine. But what called me here was the music. I loved it more than anything, so I came from London, where I was born and raised, to NYU, and majored in music, making contacts that led me to a major record label. The day I was going to take the New York subway for the third time in years, I would start working in a new studio the company had at 6th Avenue.

"Excuse me," I said sharply as I sat down in a seat next to an old woman, who looked at me as if I was some weird creature.

And then I saw_ it_. The most beautiful, round and tempting female ass I had seen in my entire life, right in front of me, moving in time with the motions of the train. I stared at it for a moment and then followed it down; my mouth watering with the sight of two long bare legs that ended in a pair of black elegant heels. Then I ran my gaze up reaching again that perfect bottom and, higher up, a pair of alluring tits.

The girl was probably my age, and she was wearing a dark blue skirt suit, matched with a dark flower-patterned blouse. She looked so hot I got hard. _Thank God for the briefcase in my lap._

She was talking to a petite woman, who was standing next to me, and they were both holding on to the metal bar next to my seat.

Of course, the girl was pretty above her neck too. Sometimes she moved her face to get her long maroon, wavy hair out of her face, and I could perfectly see that she had a heart-shaped face, dark honey eyes, a perfect-sized nose and full pink lips.

If I had been a woman, the little one who was talking with her, for instance, I would have become lesbian just by seeing her. I wanted to touch her skin to know if it was as soft and smooth as it seemed, and I wanted to feel those juicy lips on my—

The two girls muted for a moment. _Talk moron, say something, ask her for her number!_ I couldn't take my eyes off her nor say anything. I noticed her friend looke at me and frown, and I looked away. I listened to their conversation.

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad. They can't fire you! You are the best at what you do," the friend was saying.

"Apparently not, when they hired someone else to take my place," my new muse said with an angelical voice.

"Because you didn't want to move to L.A.? Bella, that's insane."

Bella_, indeed!_

"Alice, I know it, okay? Angela overheard my boss talking to someone on the phone." I turned to stare at her ass one more time. "What?" she asked after a moment, but I didn't hear a response. Then I heard her clear her throat.

I looked up at her, and she was watching me with an angry expression. _Fuck_.

"Haven't you ever seen a woman's ass before, perv?" she asked me. I swear in another situation I would have said something, but there was a lot of people on the train, and I didn't want to make a scene. Did I? "Ugh, fantastic," she said as she stepped off the train, followed by her friend, who was giggling like a bitch.

When I didn't have her in my sight, I relaxed my head back in the seat. Normally, girls like her didn't escape from me, but I guessed this was not my normal environment. God, I wanted her ravenously, and even more after she snarked at me. She was harsh, and I liked it.

I looked at my watch again. I could be on time if I hurried. I looked up to see where I was and nearly fainted of desperation. I had missed my stop because of the girl, and now I had to run like hell.

· - ·

I arrived at the building almost twenty minutes late. I had to walk up to the fourth floor because the lift was broken-down. I stepped out of the stairwell and saw a reception room to the right, with a large desk at the farthest wall and a young girl behind it.

"Excuse me, I'm new here. I had to meet Mr. Newton at nine, but I'm running late," I said breathlessly. She eyed me curiously. I was so tired I couldn't bring myself to check her out properly yet.

"I'll give him notice of your presence, Mr…"

"Cullen. I'm Edward Cullen," I said, smiling seductively, and she giggled. She was pretty enough.

"I'd rather say Edward Pervert Cullen," a familiar voice said to my left. I looked in that direction and saw her, my beautiful tigress, with a priceless look on her pretty face, staring at me.

"Ah, Miss Sympathy, may I ask why you are here?" I asked sarcastically, emphasizing my English accent. She looked surprised that I could even speak. The secretary looked from Bella to me, as if she was in a tennis match.

"Who do you think you are? You should learn how to respect people before talking to me. And I should ask _you_ why you are here, at _my work_."

"I asked first," I teased and saw her rage growing.

"Very mature remark, Mr… Whatever," she said and looked at the other girl. "Angela, I need Mr. Brooks on the phone, please."

"Sure, Ms. Swan," Angela said.

Now some things I had heard in the train started to make sense. Bella passed by me with a piercing angry look and left the room.

"Rawr!" I made a claw gesture to the secretary, who started giggling. "Who do you think won?" I chuckled. "Bella Swan, huh? Is she always like that?"

"Not with me, sir," she said, amused, and grabbed the phone. She called Mr. Newton and told me to wait a minute.

Ten minutes later, I was pacing in the reception when the door at the left opened. A tall blond man stepped into the room. He was very young.

"Mr. Cullen? Mike Newton, nice to see you again."

I shook his hand and followed him through the door to a large hallway flanked by four doors, at the end of which was another door. We arrived at a foyer that was decorated with a few gold, platinum and diamond certifications from various artists.

Finally, another door led us to his office. It wasn't very big, but it was well decorated as well. I saw Bella sitting at a chair in front of the desk. Mr. Newton gestured for me to sit down in another chair next to her, and he went to sit behind his desk.

"Ms. Swan, this is Mr. Cullen. Edward Cullen, Bella Swan," he said, introducing us. I looked at her and smirked, but she remained serious. "Well, I've brought you together because my partner, Mr. York, and I want to make some changes here." He made a dramatic pause and then continued. "Ms. Swan, you informed us of your decision of not moving to Los Angeles and lead our new studio there. Mr. Cullen, you said you wouldn't mind moving out, as long as you were in the company." We nodded, and he smiled, satisfied.

"Here's what we have thought. Bella, you are the best Studio Manager we have, and we don't want to lose you, as much as we'd want you to be in L.A., near us. It can't be possible, because we respect your decision, but we need someone as competent as you on the team." I looked at her. She seemed to be holding her breath. The way he talked about her made me admire her and want to kill him at the same time. "I have to admit, I don't think Ms. Mallory or Ms. Stanley is capable enough, and that's where Mr. Cullen comes in. I want you to work together.

"Bella, I want you to prepare and teach him the best you can, so that he can move to L.A. in a couple of months and lead the studio as if it were you who was running it: effectively and wisely, as only you work."

Silence filled the place. Bella was still holding her breath, wide-eyed. This certainly was not what she was expecting.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think two different people can do the same work, no matter how much she teaches me," I said, and they both stared at me.

"I agree," Bella said.

"You two have taken our personality test, and your marks were extremely similar, not to mention that you have the best formation. Great minds think alike, they say." He chuckled. "Look, I want you both in this, but if you are not in it, that's all I have to give, take it or leave it. However, it's both or none."

Bella and I looked at each other thoughtfully.

What did I want to do? Work with this bossy hottie for a few months, have fun and then leave to the west coast or stay in the Big City and have to look for another job? She looked uncertain. I was sure she wanted her job, but I hadn't caused a big impression on her. I was the problem in her puzzle, so I was going to try to make her change her mind, for our money account's sake, and have a good time meanwhile.

"Maybe Ms. Swan and I could discuss the situation in private, if you would give us some time?" I said.

"Sure, sure. Of course. I understand it's an important decision to make," Mr. Newton said, satisfied.

"Is there a meeting room available where we could go?" I asked. I looked at her, and she frowned.

"Yes. Actually, you have one available in an hour, after the meeting with Mr. Stewart."

"I don't see why it has to be in a meeting room. We could discuss this at lunch." She looked at me. _Mmh, interesting_. "Mr. Cullen?"

"Sure, why not?" I said, smiling. What was she up to?

· - ·

Mr. Newton showed me every room on the three floors they had in the building and introduced me to every employee. I got to know the mentioned Ms. Mallory, Lauren and Ms. Stanley, Jessica, who both flirted with me in front of their boss like two whores ready to be fucked hard. I'd be lying if I said I didn't flirt back. That was my specialty, after all, and besides, they were kind of hot. Jessica had great tits and Lauren… well; she had a nice rack, nice ass and whory movements.

But they were not like Bella, not in a million years. My future bed muse (yes, I had that thought, so what?) was gracious, feminine, crystal-like and beautiful outside, and smart, hard-working and intelligent inside. Cheesy, I know, but that was the truth.

I found myself looking forward to eating her… excuse me, eating _with_ her later on.

· - ·

I was waiting for her at the reception room, being scanned by Angela. I could sense her eyes on my back and probably further down as I paced agitatedly.

"Are you guys out on a date?" she asked, getting my sense of humor.

"I think so, she asked for it," I responded, grinning. "I think she's starting to like me."

"Bastard!" we heard Bella scream as she crashed through the door. "What did you say to Mike?" she asked me angrily.

"_Mike_. That's how you treat your boss?" I teased. "Can I be your boss?"

"Don't fuck with me! What did you say to him?"

"I said a lot of things. But I guess you're referring to what I said about what a great idea he's had and that you're pretty sexy to be so surly." I couldn't help but laugh at her angry expression.

She was pretty alluring, all red and flustered. I wanted to see her like that in another situation.

"You big asshole! I'm starting to think that you want to get us both fired or you have a death wish. Don't talk about me like that again or I—"

"Or you what?" I asked, taking a step forward. "I'm saving your pretty little ass here, if you hadn't figured out yet."

She stared at me for a moment and then looked away.

"Let's go eat something," she simply said.

· - ·

We were at some simple but nice place she said she used to go. I had held her seat and said, "You look even sexier when you get angry" as she sat down. She didn't say anything, but blushed instead. _Adorable_. I smirked to myself and sat across from her.

"Well, you tell me why are we on a date when you seem to dislike me so much, Ms. Swan," I said.

"It's not a date, Mr. Cullen, this is called 'meeting in a neutral zone'."

"Sure." I chuckled. "By the way, I have to rephrase what I said before, because you look sexier when you blush. It's just that I hadn't seen it yet." I grinned and winked at her.

"Go to hell," Bella said, hiding her flushed face with the menu, and I laughed.

"Don't bite me, tigress!" I said seductively. She looked up at me and smiled shaking her head. "We're going to work together for a while, so we better start getting along," I said when the waiter had brought our meals and wine.

"I wouldn't be so sure about working together, because we're here to discuss that, and I don't think I like the idea. Besides, I've worked with a lot of people I didn't get along with. I still do and it's not a problem for me; I don't let personal issues interfere in my job. It's called professionalism," she said seriously.

"Okay, but I know you love your job and you heard what Mike said: 'it's both or none', so I don't think we really need to discuss anything," I responded. She chuckled lightly. "What?"

"_Mike_?" Bella asked raising her eyebrows, and we both laughed. "I don't know if I can work with you."

I frowned. "Why? You just said—"

"I know what I said and I mean it, but you're…" she looked me in the eye, down to my mouth and up again when she realized what she had just done. _What the fuck? It hadn't seemed that easy before_. "…arrogant, stubborn, cocky and I bet you don't even need the money."

"Why do you say that?" I demanded.

"Well, look at yourself, all snooty. I'm sure you're an English rich kid. And that accent!"

"What's wrong with my accent?" I asked outraged. She was gratuitously insulting me. "A lot of women go crazy for this accent."

"Yeah? Well, not me," Bella said.

"You'll end up loving it." I smirked.

"Wow, add narcissistic to the list, please."

"Call me whatever you want, but you'll see. And another thing, I might not need this job as much as you, but I love music and this is what I want to do." She looked at me apologetically.

· - ·

"So, Ms. Swan, what do we have scheduled for the rest of the day?" I asked as we ate dessert.

"Actually, you can go home. I'll tell Mike we accepted the offer, and then I have to go buy a dress for an event next month," she said, swallowing the last piece of her lemon cake. _Fuck me with those lips_. "And call me Bella. We're on the same level."

_Bella. Bella. Bella. Bella. Bella. __Bella. _

· - ·

Weeks passed, and I was starting to like working with Bella. She was extremely passionate, and even when things stressed her, she managed to keep her head on what she was doing. I loved to tease her whenever I had an opportunity, and she got mad at first and kept working, but I could tell she felt flattered that I was giving her so much attention.

I analyzed Bella's clothes everyday, trying to find something not perfect on her, but I failed every time. She was playing hard to get, but I saw her blush every time I complimented her sense of style. I figured that was important to a woman like her.

"You know, I've been having fantasies about that blouse all day," I said out loud one day when she passed by me, earning some envious looks from Jessica and Lauren.

Those girls were too insistent for my liking. That same day, they entered the men's room and tried to seduce me. I mean, I'm not a rock, and I would have fucked them both in a stall if it wasn't for the respect that I had for Bella. For some sick and twisted reason, I thought I would disappoint her.

No such luck. Bella saw us exiting the restroom almost at the same time and, indeed, she looked disappointed. _Shit_. At the end of the day she left without saying goodbye.

Okay, it wasn't like we had something, not by a long shot, as much as I would have liked to, and she had no right to be mad because I fucked someone else, but I could understand her. If I were her, I wouldn't like to see another guy go out of the ladies room with her, if she teased me daily about sexual fantasies with me.

_Fuck, I'm an asshole_.

The next day was Friday, and I arrived at the studio early. Angela greeted me and told me Bella had already arrived. I walked to the office and saw her in her chair behind the desk, with her elbows on the table, and her head on her hands. I cleared my throat and she looked up at me with tired eyes and a surprised expression.

"What time is it?" she asked as if she had lost track of time.

"Early. It's just us two here," I said, and she ran her fingers through her bright dark hair. God, how I loved that. "Everything okay? You didn't say goodbye yesterday."

"Yeah." Bella looked around her searching for something. "I need coffee," she said, and I stopped her before she could stand up.

"I'll bring it. Stay here." I ran out of the room and went to the coffee machine at the end of the hallway. I returned to the office a few minutes later with two plastic cups of coffee and handed one to her.

"Aren't you going to tell me what's wrong?" I asked.

"No," she said before sipping from her cup.

"Listen, Bella, what you saw yesterday… it's not what it seemed."

She stopped for a moment.

"Sure," she said, I don't know if unconvinced or sarcastically, but the point is she didn't believe me.

"I'm telling the truth. I don't care what they say or what other people think except you, and I'm telling _you_, I told them to fuck off. Nothing happened."

"Why?"

"Why? Um, because they are not worth my time or sex magnificence?" I couldn't help but laugh. She remained serious, looking down at her coffee.

"No. I mean, why do you care about what I think?" I moved forward, closer to the desk, and sat down at the chair before it.

"Because we work together, and I admire your smart head and, let me tell you, the exquisite piece of art you have for body," I said, smiling.

She shook her head lightly and looked at me, clearly not amused.

"That's bullshit. Stop it or I'll choke you until you die," Bella said.

"That's aggressive. I don't know where in that little body you keep that 'passion', but I'd like to see it on display somewh—"

"You're crossing the line, Cullen. Go get ready for the meeting," she said louder.

Later on that day I went for lunch to that little place where we had had the meeting the day we met. Bella was sitting alone at a table, clearly looking worried about something, and I approached her.

"Let me guess. You had wild unprotected Belliesque sex with some guy you don't know well and now you're pregnant." She looked at me, annoyed.

"Go fuck yourself," she muttered looking away.

"Nice," I said sitting in a chair next to her. "Seriously, there's something wrong with you and I can't stand it. Are you… you know." I made a gesture to her stomach with my eyes.

"No! God, don't you have someone else to annoy? Lauren or Jessica?"

Was she still thinking about that?

"Bella, I told you. They're nothing, I promise," I said sincerely. "Is this about them? About me?"

"Yes, because the world spins around you," she said sarcastically, and I chuckled. I loved her sense of humour.

"No pregnancy, I get it. It's about some guy, at least?" I asked. Somehow, I was afraid of the answer.

"Yes," she said, and I grimaced lightly.

"Has he hurt you? Do I have to beat him?"

She smiled a little. "No, you don't have to beat him. It's complicated, because sometimes I think I like him and other times I want to kill him." She looked up at me. "He's very sexy, you know. That attracts me, but…"

"Ugh, forget him. Go out with me," I suddenly said, much to my surprise.

In all the time I had known her and worked with her, I teased her and complimented her, but never got around to ask her out. The fact that I would be leaving soon was at the back of my mind, but it kept me from even entertaining the idea of meeting Bella outside of the office. She wasn't just someone I would fuck and not call anymore; she wasn't any Victoria. And above all, she was Miss Swan, the woman I worked with every day.

But, for some reason, it seemed like a good idea at the time. She was upset, and I didn't like to see her like that.

"What?" Bella frowned.

"I'm asking you out. That guy doesn't deserve your attention if he doesn't know how to treat you well, so I'm asking you for a date," I said without even thinking. _Date? You don't date, Cullen_. "What do you say? We go out, have fun, and forget about stupid people. Just you and me: tigress and lion." I smiled at my own words, and she chuckled.

"Okay," she said, shrugging.

We had lunch together and she told me a little more about her life. She had majored in music with a scholarship in Seattle Pacific University and came to New York two years ago. She knew the Newton family since she was little and had always wanted to work in a record label. Mike's father gave her the job as Studio Manager, and Mike took the company after his father died a year ago.

Time flew by and we headed to the office again. I told her not to make plans on Saturday, because I would think about something interesting to do.

· - ·

Saturday morning, I called Bella and said I'd meet her downtown. She just wanted to walk and she lived nearby, so she was punctual at the place we had set, right after the sun fell.

"Hey, Cullen," she greeted me in the street. She was wearing tight jeans, a grey tee shirt, black heels and a black blazer. _Stunning_.

"Hello, my beautiful partner." I made her blush and couldn't help but chuckle.

"I've been thinking, I live right there," she said pointing at the buildings behind us. "Would you like to come and watch a movie instead of walking? I cooked some pasta already."

"Sure. I love pasta."

Bella smiled at me sweetly. She was showing another part of her, which wasn't bossy or serious, and that didn't give me a reason to tease her. I liked it.

Her apartment was on a twentieth floor, from where you could see an attractive side of the city. The place was very white, very open and very cosy. She had a white leather couch in front of a wide screen in the living room, which was the centre of the place. As you entered, there were two doors to the left of the room that gave to her bedroom and another to the bathroom. Another door at the right gave to the rectangular kitchen. It was small, but the decorations made it look comfortable. She had great taste.

We ate the pasta first in silence and then we spent an hour talking about our motivations, what we liked and what we didn't.

"Sit down. I'll be right back," Bella said and went to the kitchen. I sat on the couch and switched on the TV.

Five minutes later, she returned with a big bowl of popcorn and a wide smile on her face. She was so beautiful. She lit some candles around the TV and on the coffee table, sat next to me and put the movie: 28 Days.

She told me she liked Viggo Mortensen and the way he acted in that certain movie. I didn't dislike it, but actually I wasn't paying much attention. Every time she moved and changed her position on the couch her scent invited me to touch her. She did that a lot, as if she was nervous, until I caught her arm and pulled her to my chest, where she rested quietly, absorbed in the movie.

When the end credits started rolling and she didn't move, I looked down at her and noticed that she was asleep. I smiled at the sight of Bella, peacefully sleeping in my arms. This really was a great woman, and I had known that all along. I just had to make her like me too.

We stayed like that for a while until she moved and looked up at me.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked and stood up in front of me. It was almost like the first time I saw her in the train. "Oh my God, how long?"

"Um, half an hour, more or less." She frowned at my casual tone. "I didn't want to wake you up yet. I was comfortable." She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, add selfish to the list too."

She chuckled. "Silly. There's no list anymore…" Bella raised on her knees to straddle me on the couch, and I put my hands on her hips, loving the contact but prepared to let her go when she regretted doing that. "…since I put thoughtful, kind and sexy at the top."

She leaned forward and brushed her juicy lips with mine. Soon, she gave in to the sensations of her fingers through my hair, my hands rubbing the small of her back and our tongues meeting for the first time, everything as tender and loving as it could get.

I wasn't used to the slowness with a woman. It always had been a rush with me, because I thought that only roughness could bring me the strong sensations I was looking for. But it was so different with Bella. I could touch her as though she was going to break and still feel every cell of me around her intensified with her touch.

Of course, there was one specific part of me especially interested in her touch and she noticed it when she rocked her legs around my waist. I groaned, let my hands brush the bottom of my dreams –_wet_ dreams– and down to touch her thighs to her feet. She moaned in my mouth when I moved my hands back up and squeezed her little ass.

"Bella, are you really sure you want to do this?" I asked to her neck.

She wrapped her arms around my back and moaned.

"Do I look like I don't want to?" That was all I needed to hear.

I scooped her up and led her to the bedroom. She didn't take her lips from my neck, jaw and ear in the way to the bed, where I laid her down before I started to strip myself from my white button-down shirt and my blue jeans.

"By the way, confession time," she said as she sat up and took her t-shirt off, then looked up at me with hungry eyes. "I love your accent. It's so sexy."

I smiled and leaned down over her to kiss her fully on the lips.

"I knew it."

I sucked her bottom lip and pulled gently. She moaned, reaching up to the waistband of my briefs, but I didn't let her go further. I took her hands from where they were and unzipped her jeans.

I kissed her again and kept coming down to her neck, between her breasts — before she unfastened her bra — her stomach and her belly, until I knelt before her and grabbed the waistband of her jeans to take them off. Her scent was all around me, new and familiar at the same time. She brought her fingers to my hair, then cupped my face and pulled me up for a kiss.

"You truly are marvellous," I said to her mouth. Her tongue worked masterfully with mine and my hands did the job with her perfect breasts, rubbing her nipples with my fingertips, and I saw how they became hard like rock. She felt so good.

I moved up to the bed and she moved backwards. I took a moment to watch her, leaned on her elbows, bare from the waist up and with only a pair of underwear. She had creamy skin and was curvy in the exactly right places. I had always hated too skinny women that I couldn't grab onto while having sex.

Bella slipped her little hands through the back of my briefs and grabbed my ass, bringing me closer to her. I hovered over her, and then she pulled down the fabric, setting my erection free. She looked down, her eyes wide, before wrapping her fingers around it and stroking, earning a loud moan from me. Her hands were warm and her motions gentle.

I couldn't wait anymore. I need to see more of her, to touch her everywhere. I disentangled her hand from me and quickly took off her black lace panties and moved my fingers along her slit, finally slipping two fingers inside of her, and she cried out. I curled my fingers and she curled her fingers around me again, gently stroking me; our breaths becoming erratic.

It was like she couldn't keep her hands off me, like I couldn't stop touching her.

"God, you're wet," I said breathlessly before raising my mouth to her left nipple, sucking and licking it.

"Can you reach the drawer? There should be a Magnum there," Bella said between kisses.

"Are you gonna shoot me?" I teased and then moaned when she tightened her grip in my throbbing cock. "Shit, do that again." And she did.

I was struggling to keep the pace with my fingers, so I just moved to open the drawer in the bedside table. I took out the condom and rolled it on my dick slowly, completely aware of Bella's staring. I peeked at her for a moment, and she seemed hypnotized. A manly proud smirk played in my mouth at her sight.

When I joined her in bed again, and without warning, she flipped us over so that she was on top of me.

"I like to ride, honey, I hope you don't mind." She winked at me mischievously and I grabbed her waist, ready for what was to come.

Bella lifted herself up and lowered herself down forcefully into me in one motion. We both screamed out in pleasure. I admired the sight in front of me as she rode setting her rhythm. I reached for her nipples and teased them with my fingers. She groaned and sped up her pace.

"Bella," I moaned. "I don't think I can last very long. You're fantastic."

"Shut up, Cullen. Just let me fuck you," she said half amused, half moaning. "Oh God! I found my spot. Come with me, baby."

Her dirty talk was a huge turn-on, but her face… Oh my God, her face was sublime. It wasn't long until I felt her walls tightening around me as she came, almost convulsing over me, crying out loudly, and I gave in to my own orgasm; the most powerful climax of my life. She collapsed on top of me, holding me still inside.

Twenty minutes later, we were in bed, showered, naked and holding each other tightly, arms and legs crossed, and her precious little head in my chest. I stroked her back absent-mindedly as I hummed softly a lullaby, and she brought his free hand to my hair.

"That was the best sex I've ever had," she said contently. "Not that I have much experience."

"It seemed like you have." We chuckled.

"That's because when I do something I like to do it right. But you weren't so bad yourself."

"You're amazing." I kissed her hair and kept humming until we both fell asleep.

· - ·

The next morning I woke up before Bella did. I put my briefs on and headed to the kitchen. I made some coffee, poured myself a cup and sat down at the table.

Was it possible that I had just fucked my hot partner? _No, idiot, she fucked you. Hard_. But it hadn't felt like just fucking. There was something else I was afraid of even thinking about and it was starting to bother me. How does she feel about this?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed Bella entering the kitchen, beautiful as always, even when she just had gotten out of bed. She gave me a sweet smile and moved to sit in my lap. She was wearing my shirt, which fell almost to her knees.

"Smells good in here," she said and sipped from my cup and moaned. That had an appropriate reaction in my groin, but I tried to ignore it.

"Bella, we need to think about some things, because—" I started saying before she cut me off as she straddle me in the chair and put a finger on my lips.

"Not today, okay? It's Sunday, for fuck's sake!" She smiled widely and kissed me passionately, making me forget about everything. I responded, equally enthused.

Bella had woken up hungry and I was suffering it — in the best of ways. She wiggled her hips on my lap and I literally growled as I felt her wetness through my briefs. Knowing that she wasn't wearing anything under my shirt made my cock grow hard. She moaned and, with no second thoughts, she slipped her little hand inside my briefs. She started earnestly stroking me and I couldn't help but groan. She took a condom that I hadn't realized she had left on the table, opened it with her teeth and rolled it on slowly as she pecked me on the lips and kissed my neck.

"I'm _so_ wet for you," she whispered in my ear before sliding down onto my very hard cock, letting out a moan. I echoed her sounds of pleasure and felt my climax already building. "Let yourself go, Edward, feel it."

"Ahhh, Bella… I'm close already," I moaned.

Bella took a slow and sensual pace then, and I could feel myself filling her entirely. She was captivating. She wrapped her hands in my hair, making the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard. I felt her muscles beginning to tight, getting near to her release and I reached her breasts with my mouth, biting down lightly into her hard nipples. That sent her over the edge along with me.

She rested her head on my shoulder, still sitting on my lap as we both tried to catch our breath.

"God, I would do this every morning for the rest of my life," she said placing kisses along my jaw and neck. Then I cupped her face and looked at her intently.

"I really think we should talk about this," I said.

· - ·

It was hard to fall asleep on Sunday in my bed, thinking about everything that had happened. Bella hadn't wanted to talk about it, so I let it go. She promised we would talk on Monday at lunch. It hurt that she didn't give it as much importance as I gave it to the issue that we had had sex, bringing some serious feelings to the problem and knowing I would have to leave in a couple of months.

Finally, Monday came, and with it, a sense of uncertainty I couldn't stand. At lunch, I sat with Bella at our usual table at the diner.

"Okay, I've been thinking a lot and I have some things to say," she started saying before I could speak. "First, I don't regret anything. I wanted to do it since… I don't know, a long time ago. Second, I'm not a one night stand person. If I have sex with someone there are always feelings involved, at least from my part. And third, I don't exactly know what those feelings are, but there they are." She took a deep breath and looked at me.

She left me speechless. "_Feelings" indeed_. We stayed looking at each other for a moment until I could finally speak.

"I have to admit that I was a one night stand person… until I met you," I paused to let her process the information. "And even when I should be very happy right now, I can't. Because I have feelings too, and that's not right."

She looked down to her hands and the waiter brought our food, which gave Bella time to think.

"I know we did wrong," she said and rubbed her hands over her face. "This is so fucked up, I'm stupid!"

"You're not stupid, Bella, you're human." She looked up at me. "Look, maybe we can talk to Mike and convince him that there's another way to run the company than separate us."

"You don't know him, Edward. If he wants something, he gets it no matter what. And with this… he's not going to give in."

"Let's at least talk to him. We have nothing to lose, right?" I said, hopeful. I knew that one of us quitting the job was out of the question.

"We knew the conditions from the beginning, Edward, we signed a contract. And now there's no way to fix this. Mike is stubborn as anyone else."

"Please, I want to make it work, Bella. _Please_."

"Alright," she said after a moment as she brought a piece of fish to her mouth. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I love that mouth of yours," I said playfully.

"And I love that glorious… _dick_ of yours," she responded, whispering and looking around, and I chuckled.

· - ·

"Good afternoon, my fabulous employees. Please, take a seat," Mike greeted us when we entered to his office. Bella and I sat down on the chairs before our boss' desk. He had called us to his office to announce us something important before we could tell him anything. "First, I need to ask how you two are getting along so far." Bella and I looked at each other.

"Great," we said in unison.

"Excellent!" Mike said. "Well, I've seen you've done a great job together, and I bet Bella here has been a good mentor."

"Of course, she's the best," I responded, and she smiled at me.

"I'm pleased to hear that. Now, before anything else, I need to insist that you go to L.A., Bella. I was hoping that maybe you would reconsider the offer." Bella give me a look that said 'I told you so. He's too stubborn'.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Newton, but I'm not taking your offer," she said.

"That's a shame," Mike pouted. "Well then, your time here is done, Edward. We've got all settled in Los Angeles for your arrival next week, if that's okay with you, of course."

"What?" Bella and I exclaimed, again in unison.

"You'll have your own apartment, your own car, a new office and a pretty secretary... everything, only for yourself." Mike grinned, and I freaked out.

"I… I think it's too soon, sir." I said and looked at Bella, who was as shocked as I was.

"Nonsense! You will catch up soon, trust me."

"But—" I felt powerless and sighed loudly.

"Mr. Newton, isn't there a possibility for us to work together here?" Bella asked.

"I thought I made it clear the first day." Now he was getting angry. "You two signed a two-year contract to work each one of you in one city. And that's what you're going to do, unless you want to get fired, which would be a waste of time, money and talent. This is business, kids." _Ha, kids. As if he wasn't the same age as us_.

"Yes, sir," Bella responded and looked down.

"I'll let you two finish up this week whatever issue you have, and then Mr. Cullen will be able to go live a new life." The guy stood up, and we shook his hand before leaving his office. The fucker was happy as ever.

"I need to go to the bathroom. You can go home, and we'll start setting everything up first thing in the morning," Bella said as she headed towards the ladies room.

"I'll wait for you," I responded. I needed to talk to her. She turned her head slightly and entered the restroom.

How did this get to this point? Everything was so fucked up. I knew Bella was not happy and probably blamed herself for letting this happen, but I was there too and I didn't do anything to stop, either.

The problem was that she was irresistible, and seeing her every day for two months had lightened it up.

Maybe moving out was a good idea?

No, it was going to be hard. She was an obsession to me, and being apart from her for the weekends was enough torture.

She broke my track of thought when she stepped out of the bathroom looking down. I stepped closer to her and lifted his head with my hand on her chin. She had her eyelids a bit swollen and red.

"Have you been crying?" She nodded, blinking, and I pulled her to a hug. "Shit, Bella, don't be upset, please."

"It's just too hard, I don't know why. I'm going to miss you terribly." She sniffed and looked up at me with tearful eyes. "What have you done to me, Edward Cullen?" I melted.

I really loved this woman. I loved Bella, I could tell in that very moment. I leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"Ew! Get a room!" Jessica Stanley yelled behind us. She was leaving the ladies room. Bella and I chuckled lightly.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered to Bella's ear.

We arrived at my car and I drove to my home, with the woman of my dreams in the passenger seat. We stumbled through the garage and then the hallway until we reached the elevator. Bella attacked me with her mouth at my neck, and I moaned.

The trip to the fourteenth floor was too short. We continued kissing and touching each other everywhere as we reached my door. As soon as we were inside, passion took over the place, and our naked bodies joined desperately multiple of times, until we agreed reluctantly we needed to sleep.

· - ·

"So, what now?" Bella asked to my bare chest Tuesday morning.

"Now I better drive you to your apartment so that you can shower and change before going to the studio," I responded kissing her head.

"No, I mean..." She sighed loudly and looked up at me. "…where does this leave us?"

"I don't know," I said honestly.

"Do you think this could work? I mean, if we were both here?" She asked serious.

"I think so. But, what's your point?"

"My point is that maybe we could try to make it work at a distance," she said. "Do you think we could do it? No wait, would you _want_ to do it?" I smiled.

"Seriously? Bella, these things are done temporarily."

"I know. That's something I wanted to propose you," she seemed scared to ask me something. She sat up beside me and I mimicked her movement. "Look, I can see you love music as much as I do and we both have a great sense of business. So, I wanted to propose you run our own record label."

I was thoughtful for a long moment, considering what she suggested.

"Bella, that's perfect! How hasn't that occurred to me before?" I screamed.

"Because _I'm_ the genius here, Cullen," Bella teased. I grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her.

"God, how much I love you," I whispered to her neck. Fortunately, she didn't seem to hear it.

· - ·

Too soon, the week came to an end. People at work organized a little goodbye party for me on Friday. I went to dinner with Bella and then to my apartment. That was a routine we had established since Monday. I drove her back in the mornings so she could change and then we headed to the studio.

But Friday night would be different, because I was leaving New York on Saturday morning. She obviously was sad that I had to leave so soon and she tried not to show it, so I couldn't worry, but the last day melancholic moments were inevitable.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said in our post-coital bliss.

"Me too. I'll call you every day and I'll come to see you every two weekends, okay?" I said and she looked at me.

"Would you do that for me?" She asked.

"Always." I kissed her softly.

"I love you, Edward Cullen." I smiled widely.

"You've taken the words out of my mouth," I said squeezing her little beautiful ass. "I love you too, my tigress." She hit my chest, and I chuckled.

"You're too much, Cullen," Bella said.

"Yeah, but you love it. Admit it," I teased.

"I do." She parted my lips with his smooth tongue and I almost died in her arms at the feeling of her pressed up against me. She knew how to drive me crazy. And hard.

Bella straddled me on the bed and made her way with her mouth along my body and down to my navel. She followed the villous that went to my dick and licked the tip of it. I moaned loudly, which encouraged her to take me into her mouth. She had an incredibly talented tongue. I watched intently as Bella sucked up and down my length several times, spreading the wetness of her saliva with one hand, running his wet tongue around the head, and cupping and rubbing my balls with her other hand.

"Bella," I moaned. "I'm going to… ungh, God! I can't hold it back… any… longer."

"Come for me, baby. Come in my mouth." And that did it; she took all of my seed without blinking as my orgasm shot hard through my body in the form of a wave of extreme pleasure. She was a goddess in every way. She was grinning when I tried to catch my breath.

"You're amazing," I said as she lay down next to me. "I'm going to miss this."

"I know. You better not go and fuck some Jessica Stanley or Lauren Mallory in L.A. or I'll literally kick your balls." I grimaced at the thought, and she chuckled.

"Never, love. Never."

We fell asleep into each other's arms and the next day I flew across the country, leaving Bella Swan, my love, behind.

· - ·

I was miserable. One simple week without her, and I was tearing my hair out. I called her everyday just to complain about everything here, though I had no real reason. I was grumpy and irritated at work, and I had the feeling my co-workers didn't like to work with me. Even Mike had to call me one day to ask if everything was okay, trying to calm me down. I went through the weekend as good as I could, but I was lonely and suffering for Bella loneliness at the same time.

The next weekend I went to New York and spent with Bella every minute. We didn't leave her apartment, and we just got out of the bed to watch a movie on Saturday, to go to the bathroom and to eat something. I calculated we must have lost more than twenty pounds in two days. I felt drawn to her. She was a drug I couldn't resist, and she showed me she felt the same way about me.

In the third week in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, I wanted to return to Bella's arms already. I was in the office doing nothing when my secretary called through the internal line.

"Mr. Cullen, you have a private call on line 2," she informed. I noticed her smile as she said it. _What the fuck?_

"Okay, I'll take it from here," I responded intrigued. "Hello?" I asked to the phone.

"Hey, gorgeous," a familiar voice said. "I have a surprise waiting for you outside your office. You better get out and look or it will leave."

"Bella? Baby, what are cell phones for?" She hung up without another word.

I frowned and moved to open the door of my office. I slipped my head outside and looked to the right. When I turned my head to the left, a body assaulted me, brought me back to my office and closed the door. Bella sucked and licked my bottom lip until it was red and swollen.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," she said, feisty. Moments later, she finally released me and cupped my face with her tiny hands. "_I love you_."

"What are you doing here, Bella Swan?" I smirked. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"I talked to Mike Fucking Newton on Monday, and I quit officially this morning," she said, smiling happily.

"What are you saying?"

"Come back with me, Edward. I can't stay away from you anymore. _Please_. Let's start our own life. Together," she said embracing me and I kissed her.

"_Together_," I said to her mouth.

· - ·

**FIN.**

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**A/N:** Huge thanks to **Jasperbells** and **TRDancer** (from PTB) for betaing this!

The inspiration for the title is the song of the same name by Strawberry Alarm Clock. You can listen to it in YouTube.

Please feel free to review and tell me what you liked, what you didn't… whatever you want. I'll appreciate it :)


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